MILLIONS OF IRISH people have ended up in London. We helped build it, we’ve grown it, a lot of us run and develop it in so many different ways, and we have contributed to its pluses and its minuses. I am one of those people. London is very much part of my life. It’s where I work, it’s where I live – but it never has been or ever will be home.
That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the opportunities and some of the experiences it gives me. Next Friday, I will be anchoring the Sky News coverage of William and Kate’s royal wedding. Never mind what your politics are, for a council house Catholic boy from north Belfast, that’s a pretty mega establishment gig. But then that’s London for you – so many chances for those prepared to take them. This will be London at its finest and its most regal. The London of picture postcards and Pathé News.
Like most people, I knew London, via newspapers and films, better than any other city in the world – with the exception of Belfast – before I had even set foot in it. Belfast is a provincial town compared to Dublin, and my first job with the BBC in England was in Manchester in 1986. If Manchester was like a metropolis, London, when my transfer came in 1991, was that multiplied by 20. This was the home of BBC Television Centre, London Weekend Television, Thames Television. The big programmes, the big productions, the big politics.
I felt then, and always have, very puny and a bit of a tourist – but what a place to explore. In my 20 years here, I have never tired of seeing up close and personal the football venues, the film sets, the fantastic futuristic follies such as the O2 Arena and the London Eye.
I can’t say I frequent particular restaurants because of their cuisine. I frequent them because of their ambience, their usefulness as meeting places and their friendliness – chief of which is Richard Corrigan’s Bentley’s in Swallow Street. I like Richard, his staff and the atmosphere that Bentley’s provides, whether it’s sitting eating oysters at the bar or a full lunch in one of its cosy booths.
I’m a great window shopper but the internet long ago provided me with an easier option to trudging around some of the best department stores in the world. I make an exception for Westfield, near the BBC at Shepherd’s Bush. There never used to be anything to do out of hours when working for the BBC there – now the difficulty, because of this amazing shopping centre, is to pluck up the enthusiasm to go back to work. My favourite indulgence there is the boutique cinema at Vue – maybe it’s the hours I keep, working on breakfast television, but never have movies felt more relaxing, escapist or restful.
Recently, I’ve discovered the joys of river taxis. It’s the same city, just a different way of getting about. With the right wind behind you and the sun on your face, you could be in Sydney – okay, you have to squint a bit, but there was one day when it reminded me of Sydney!
One thing is for certain: it’s not a city I would like to be poor in – I am not made of such stern stuff as my Irish forefathers. When TV work ends for me in London, so, probably, will my living there. But it will always be a great city to visit.
